Channeling Absolution
by ShadowSage2
Summary: Edgeworth is left shaken by the events of the trial for Misty Fey's murder. What will he do, knowing now that the Kurain Channeling Technique that he despised and rejected for so long is indeed real? UPDATED & NEW CHAPTERS. Read A/N in Ch. 1 for more info
1. Chapter 1

Title: Channeling Absolution

Author: Midgetnazgul

Rating: PG-13

Disclaimer: No, the Ace Attorney series isn't mine, contrary to popular belief. So don't sue me.

Summary: Edgeworth is left shaken by the events of the trial for Misty Fey's murder. What will he do, knowing now that the Kurain Channeling Technique that he despised and rejected for so long is indeed real?

A/N: There are far too many people to thank here properly in just a paragraph. Most of all I need to thank those in charge of the Phoenix Wright Big Bang on LJ for providing me the impetus to actually finish this story. Beyond that, my betas meraniimassacre and shychloe, my artists sleepyartist and takumee, and my mixer apephobia from the Big Bang all deserve the greatest accolades for bringing this story to life in other media! They all worked fantastically. ^_^ Also, to betas and friends in the past who have provided me their input and help over the two years it took to write this, thank you so much. :D

All fanfiction are labors of love, but this one in particular was difficult to bring myself to finish. This story was forged and has evolved over time from my own experiences during what was arguably three of the worst years of my life. It has provided something of a sounding board whenever I was particularly upset, and as such I will miss it. I mention that not to be melodramatic, but merely to underline the soul I strove to integrate into the narrative. I hope that it manifests in the same way for you. Thank you for reading, especially if you've come back after reading the original first two chapters here.

There will be eight chapters in total, and the last three are near-finished.

* * *

Miles Edgeworth had never been one to believe in the supernatural and fantastic. In his mind, that which could not be proven with direct evidence didn't even warrant his attention. This was especially true of ghosts, spirits, and whatnot. Since most of his livelihood revolved around the factual and tangible, he had always been surprised and mildly disturbed by the ease with which Wright accepted such ideas.

That is, until _this_ case.

He had become intimately acquainted with the logistics and secrets of the Fey clan's method of succession throughout the proceedings of Iris' trial, but he had regarded it as little more than petty internal family feuding for ceremonial importance. So, of course, it had come as quite a shock to him, in more than one way, to learn that the Kurain Channeling Technique was not only real, but had been a large part of the threat to Maya's life while she had been missing.

Even after watching the quasi-exorcism of Dahlia Hawthorne's spirit mid-trial, he not only still found it difficult to believe what he had seen, but violently so. Some part inside of him rebelled against it, almost as if it would cause him physical pain to admit to the Fey clan's supernatural ability. The feeling disturbed him so much that it had persisted long after court had been dismissed and into the dinner that was part of the post-trial celebration.

He had deigned to drive his whip-happy sister and barely-competent subordinate to the restaurant Larry had previously mentioned. Luckily, the excuse of needing concentration to drive relieved him of the burden of having to listen to the abusive ramblings of Franziska and Gumshoe's meek responses. Instead, he puzzled over and attempted to reign in his suddenly tempestuous feelings.

The car flew down the road, passing a small Asian-themed restaurant as they went. A pair of large stone lanterns stood near the entrance, reminding him of another, fateful lantern of similar stature. With sudden blazing clarity, he was mentally pulled back to the conversation he had shared with Wright the previous afternoon regarding Dahlia Hawthorne. He recalled that back then, he had also taken a rather vehement stance against Phoenix's claim that it wasn't only possible for Dahlia to have been involved in a murder posthumously, but she may have been an instigator of it. Recalling the memory made him realize he had felt a similar emotion to the one he was experiencing now, and he guessed that was what had led to such an extreme outburst against his friend.

But, what reason could there be for it? He was not one to rise to anger openly. Wright, however, seemed to understand what he did not. After Edgeworth's insistence of disbelief, Wright had not been angry, nor did he even attempt further to persuade the prosecutor. He had simply stared at Edgeworth with a sad, perhaps pained, but sympathetic eye as if he had expected this response and knew the source of it.

_Where have I seen that look before? _Edgeworth pondered as he parked the car and entered the gaudy establishment.

Then, somewhere between the car and the table, realization hit.

It had happened more than two years ago, when DL-6 had been dragged into the limelight once more, and the wounds left by his painful past had been laid bare for all to rub salt into. That was where he had seen that particular look before. Once Phoenix had come to understand all that had happened to Miles leading up to his sudden disappearance from school, he would sometimes fix the prosecutor with that look when they discussed it during the trial. It had always made Miles feel uncomfortable, yet at the same time, he had been drawn to the obvious sympathy and worry characterized in the arc of his admittedly strange eyebrows and unspoken emotion of his body language. The times he had been closest to breaking during that painful period had been the points after these conversations, when Phoenix had finally broken gaze with him to go back to business. The distant and awkward comfort given by the man had been torn away so suddenly, and the weight of reality had rushed back in with such cold ruthlessness that he wondered how he had handled all of it for so long.

So that was it. DL-6. He sighed inwardly. How long would this continue to hound him? Up until now, he had believed that he had finally managed to set all that behind him and move on.

After the initial shock, denial and fear of the truth to DL-6, the knowledge he had gained from his own trial for murder had assisted him in putting the past, even his time with von Karma, behind him. His nightmares had stopped, but apparently some deeply hidden subconscious roots remained.

It shouldn't have surprised him, really. Initially, he had not been angry with what had happened in the wake of DL-6. He simply hadn't been old enough to understand anything beyond the horrifying fact that his father was gone, and the judicial system that same man had so cherished had failed to bring him posthumous justice.

He hadn't come to fully understand the significance of the spirit medium, Misty Fey, who had called forth his father's soul, until his teenage years. He had been well into his legal education, and it had further appalled him in both a legal and personal perspective. Yes, Hammond had indeed gotten Yogi off for the murder most people had believed he had done, but to think the police and the prosecutor's office would rely on such shoddy, transparently thin evidence? They had brought that verdict upon themselves!

Edgeworth had solemnly sworn to himself to never use such methods, no matter how desperate his case may be. He had never truly hated Misty Fey or the Fey clan itself, merely the idea and superstition that was their trade. It had been just another one of the many things that had failed him in the wake of DL-6.

"….iles….dge…" He was abruptly pulled from his thoughts.

"Miles Edgeworth! Are you intent on eating in such a foolish position? Honestly, little brother, you are quite the fool when you wish to be."

Franziska? Right, but….what was he doing?

Looking down, he realized that Franziska was sitting at one of the tables inside the restaurant, across from Gumshoe, farther away from her than in the car but still within whipping range should the need present itself. Somehow, Edgeworth remained standing. One of his hands rested on the back of a half pulled-out chair, forgotten, most likely, because of his earlier realization. How long had he been standing there? He had no recollection of ever entering the restaurant. Not one to show how flustered he was by his faux pas, he silently finished pulling out the chair next to Franziska and seated himself in one cool, fluid motion. Apparently, that was not enough to stop their confusion and curiosity.

"Are you alright, sir?" Gumshoe asked abruptly.

"Indeed, little brother, your behavior is…less than characteristic," Franziska added, though her accent had added a sharp tone that made Edgeworth wince inwardly as if he were being scolded. Suddenly, her eyebrows rose at the thought of what he could only guess was some sort of imaginative explanation for his odd actions. "Certainly you aren't still foolishly brooding on the fiasco with the defendant yesterday?"

_I certainly feel more stupid now, Franziska. Thanks._

Like he hadn't been brooding enough already, and then she had to add _that _back onto everything. With a massive mental shove, though, he pushed all that to the back of his mind so it wouldn't show on his face.

"Of course not. And I'm fine, today has simply given me a lot of information to absorb," Edgeworth stated with an impatient roll of the eyes for effect. The subject needed to be changed, and quickly. "However, that's not the reason why we're here tonight. Hopefully, Wright will be back before long, and with good news."

It worked. Franziska turned her gaze down to the table, and Gumshoe appeared to absorb himself in whatever level of deep thought he was capable of. Probably worry for Pearl. The stocky officer knew a lot more about her than Edgeworth himself did and, curiously enough, seemed to care about her nearly as much as Phoenix and Maya did. Glad for the respite from his companions' potentially embarrassing questions, he resumed his thoughts.

Obviously, this wasn't going to just go away over time, but he simply didn't want to wait for that. He wanted, perhaps even needed, to be proactive about it. What was he supposed to do, then? It wasn't as if he could simply amputate these feelings from himself like a diseased limb. He replayed the end of the trial over again in his mind, but nothing presented itself. The moment of Dahlia's departure from this plane had simply come and gone too quickly for him to comprehend in such a state of surprise. If only he could see it again in a more personal setting…

That was it! See it again. Well, not Dahlia Hawthorne, obviously, but a spirit channeling in general.

His thoughts were once again interrupted, this time by the arrival of Wright with both Maya and, thankfully, Pearl in tow. They sat down at the table, and the mood instantly lifted. Everyone, even a reticent Franziska, began chatting amiably enough with each other. Edgeworth, satisfied that he had come to a reasonable conclusion, felt much more at ease and allowed himself to take part in the celebration. Despite the crappy food that Très Bien had pretty much become famous for (a fact which earned Gumshoe a nasty whipping later on), dinner passed without incident, and everyone enjoyed the company immensely after such a harrowing week. Before long, bills were paid, thanks were exchanged, and preparations were made to leave. Phoenix, in particular, looked anxious to leave, no doubt out of concern for Maya. The sidelong worried glances he kept making at her were obvious all throughout dinner. Edgeworth couldn't help but smile inwardly at his colleague's constant empathy for others.

The smile was quickly broken, though, by apprehension. He wanted to approach Maya about his request as soon as possible, but was now truly all that prudent? Regardless of what one believed had caused it, she was very obviously drawn from the past few days' experiences. However, there was no knowing how long she would remain in town and, though it was difficult to admit, he would only become more and more reluctant if he let it wait. His appendages seemed to make the decision for him, for he suddenly found himself directly behind her previously retreating back and with a hand on her shoulder. Maya turned in surprise. Wright, sensing the lack of her presence behind him, also turned.

"Miss Fey, er…"

_Wonderful, Miles. Absolutely wonderful._

"Mr. Edgeworth! What is it?"

"If…if I might have a word, for just a moment? I have…a request."

There it was again, that _look._ He could feel it boring into him somewhere between his right ear and eye. Wright's "all-knowing" gaze. It took a lot not to look over at him. He didn't have time to play that mental game with himself right now.

Surprisingly, Maya was not put off. That, or she just hid it well.

"Uh, sure. I don't mind."

She glanced back at Phoenix, who nodded after a moment. Together, prosecutor and spirit medium stepped a few paces closer to the door of the restaurant they just had left for a little more privacy. Nowhere in his memory could he recall speaking with Maya personally like this. Being faced with that fact only made him more uneasy.

"I apologize for delaying your arrival home, Miss Fey, but I didn't know if I'd have another opportunity to ask…" Edgeworth drifted off as he felt the previous tense emotion bordering on physical pain rear its head again.

"No, it's okay, really. Nick's just being a worry-wart. And you _can_ call me 'Maya', you know," she replied easily. "So what do you need, especially from me?"

"I wish to…see you channel a spirit, personally. For a long time, I have…held something of a grudge toward you and your family's ability, and after today, I…well, I just think it will help me continue to put my past behind me. Please understand, I don't mean to be unkind-" he added hurriedly, afraid he would upset her with his last careless statement. The prickly-haired defense attorney would be furious with him.

While she didn't appear to be mad at him, her reaction did at first confuse him. Something of a shadow passed very briefly over her face, leaving Edgeworth wondering if he had even seen it at all. Whatever had happened, it was immediately replaced with her usual chipper demeanor. Had he indeed said too much regarding his feelings about the Fey family?

"Oh, I get you!" she said finally. "Don't worry, I understand what you mean. I'd love to, but I really just can't do it tonight…"

Miles relaxed. _I see. She is simply exhausted._

"Heavens, no! I never…this need not be done immediately, but whenever you have recovered. Like I said earlier, I only bring it up now because I didn't know when else I would be able to approach you."

"Right, okay! Well then…hmm. How about a week from today? That'll give me plenty of time to feel better and get what I need to perform the ceremony."

_Ceremony…?_ He wondered, but pushed it aside.

"Alright then, that's fine. Do I…need to do, or…bring something?" he suggested brokenly. What did he know, after all?

Maya grinned, clearly amused. "Nope, that's all my and Pearly's job. But, I do have to ask, who do you want me to channel?"

That caught him off-guard. He had been so focused on getting to talk to Maya about the subject at all that he hadn't thought that far. An unbidden image flashed across his mind, and he suddenly knew exactly whom he should channel. He was only acquainted with one deceased person, after all. But, did he have it in him to do that? The very thought shook him to the core.

_Well, this _did_ start as an attempt to put the past behind. There isn't a much more effective way to do that. _

The logic was irritatingly sound. What sort of "changed man" would he be if he didn't follow through completely?

"W-well, I…" he started, but couldn't finish for some inexplicable reason.

"Who am I kidding? It's your dad, isn't it?" Maya asked kindly. She had beaten him to the punch, and he wasn't exactly ungrateful for it, either.

"I s-suppose….yes, that is the most likely candidate." He grimaced at his reluctance.

Maya smiled gently at Edgeworth. While she was often exceedingly loud and scatterbrained, but there was no doubting her sincere care for her friends. But was he truly a friend in Maya's mind? Their "relationship" had not started under the greatest of circumstances. After their first meeting in court, they had settled into a separate existence, with Phoenix being the only real connection between them. At least, that was how Edgeworth had seen it. Apparently, Maya didn't feel the same way, judging from the ease with which she extended the figurative hand of friendship to him.

"Okay, sounds good. I guess…I'll have Nick call you the night before so I can give you an idea of when to show up. Does that work for you?" she asked.

"Yes, of course. I…look forward to it," he added lamely. He really didn't know what else to say.

Maya smiled wider, saying: "If you have any questions or are worried about anything, don't be afraid to get a hold of me anytime this week, okay? I can't imagine having to get in contact with a parent…like this…" she faltered at the end of the sentence. The shadow he had thought he had imagined earlier returned, this time clearer than ever.

It took Edgeworth a few puzzled moments, but he soon realized that he and Maya now shared a common thread in having a murdered parent. The memory of her sullen rejection of the Fey family after she had regained consciousness in the courtroom hit him like an errant two-by-four to the face. His outright selfishness and disregard appalled him, and it was all he could do not to completely destroy any attempt at a coherent sentence. All of his usual poised composure left him.

"Oh, Maya, I had completely…I'm such an idiot! How could I ever…Christ, I can't believe, after everything that you learned and said today-I'm so, so sorry. _Fuck!_"

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Maya look up at him in what he guessed must be shock. It was very rare indeed for Miles Edgeworth to be so flustered as to fall into using expletives. He ran a hand through his long bangs in frustration and chanced a glance at what he expected to be an upset Maya.

Instead, she was smirking, though the ghost of her sorrow still shadowed her face.

"…what?" he demanded, dumbfounded.

"Well, for one, you sound _really _funny when you swear like that. And you finally called me 'Maya'," she replied with the very smallest of chuckles. "But Edgeworth…" Her face became serious. "Don't worry about that."

"But in court-"

She waved her hand to stop his rebuttal. "Don't. What I said today…it…that shouldn't…" she sighed in exasperation. "What I mean is, that is completely different from what _you_ want me to do. I couldn't…I don't _want _to… turn you down. What happened to you is just another way my family has hurt other people in the past, and if I start to fix that, as well as help you…" She looked even more faint now. Miles compulsively put a hand on her shoulder, afraid she would begin to waver on her feet. It was definitely time to wrap this up.

"Alright, Maya. As long as you are completely comfortable with it, I would sincerely appreciate your assistance. If it can help you, too, that's all the better. But please, I have stolen enough of your time and strength as it is." He couldn't keep a note of pleading out of his voice.

"Yeah…it's okay, really. I'm happy you trust me enough to do this." A genuine smile returned to her face, and she turned to leave.

He didn't know what to say that, so he just smiled self-consciously and gave her shoulder a small squeeze before letting her go. That seemed to be enough for her, for she turned to look behind her one last time to give another reassuring smile before rejoining her younger cousin and spiky-haired guardian.

Miles finally allowed his eyes to meet Phoenix's. The prosecutor burned with embarrassment under his age-old friend's gaze, but Wright didn't seem particularly perturbed with what he had seen of their exchange. He gave no indication of having actually overheard his conversation with Maya, considering that he looked intensely curious as to what had transpired. Maya wasn't giving any hints, thankfully, for Miles heard her exclaim with relish over her desire to sleep in an actual bed, and began to herd Phoenix and Pearl back around the corner and out of sight. Watching her do so gave him a new appreciation for Maya's ability to subtly disguise her intentions with a cover of over-the-top zeal.

That left Edgeworth alone on the street, Gumshoe and Franziska long forgotten and departed. He could feel the doubt and dread of his decision lurking in the back of his mind, but if he allowed all that to present itself now, he would never get any sleep tonight. After the experiences of the week, he needed it desperately. Using a mental technique he had perfected during his days being raised by von Karma, he locked away the dark shadows of doubt and began to make his way home.


	2. Chapter 2

For the first few moments after Phoenix woke up that morning, he felt almost as though the past week never happened. The wavering state between dreaming and waking has a comforting way of doing that.

However, that all changed when he actually made to get up. The first reminder had been his back; as he had raised himself up, it had screamed its protest. Though his cold was finally gone, the bruises from his Indiana Jones-style adventure across Dusky Bridge remained. He winced and sighed. Now that he was fully awake everything that had transpired over the past few days in court had returned to the forefront of his mind.

_Maya is back and unharmed, Iris is, for the most part, saved, and another trial has seen justice. I shouldn't be feeling this horrible._

However, he knew he was kidding himself. The real work and recovery was just beginning.

His gaze was drawn to the wall behind him, where beyond it Maya was surely still sleeping. How was he supposed to help her? A wave of helplessness passed over him and he spent the next indeterminable amount of time absorbed in it. In a way, it was therapeutic. He hadn't allowed himself to feel emotions boiling under the surface during the trial, even in the hospital - if he had, he wouldn't have been able to handle it. Now that the immediate danger was done and past, he could allow himself to relax. It was a process, unfortunately, that he had been able to perfect over the past few years. Experiences had required it.

How long he sat there, brooding and decompressing, he never really did figure out, but finally he was interrupted by a clang from the direction of the kitchen. He physically jumped at the noise and looked around wildly in surprise. After the jitters passed, he realized that the only other person it could be was Pearl. He glanced at the clock on his DVD player. 10:17. Just when did she get up? Phoenix had taken the gentlemanly route and let Maya and Pearl sleep in his bed the previous night, delegating himself to the living room couch. He would let Maya sleep however long she needed, of course, but it was about time _he_ got up, probably. Pearls needed to be checked on, anyway.

The kitchen was in shambles when he arrived. Pearls was in the center of it, less than gracefully stacking a dirty bowl on top of another. She wasn't a bad cook by any stretch of the imagination, but she was disorganized in the way she went about it. Judging from the ingredients fragged across the kitchen's surfaces, she was making pancakes.

"Morning, Pearls. Need a hand?"

She gasped in surprise, and the spoon she had been holding flew into the air and landed in the sink.

"Oh, Mr. Nick!" Pearl exclaimed. "I never heard you get up! I decided to make breakfast for you and Mystic Maya…did I wake you?"

"Heh, no you didn't. I'm happy you did this, but Pearls…I don't think Maya will be getting up any time soon. We should let her sleep as long as she wants."

Pearl's hand flew to cover her mouth in surprised realization. Crestfallen, she slumped forward as though she were being chastised. Even her twin loops of hair seemed to wilt with disappointment. To Phoenix, it was one of the most depressing things he'd come across in his life. Though he never did it on purpose, of course, he couldn't help but mentally pummel himself whenever he saddened her like that. Panicked, he searched for a way to rectify the situation.

"It's alright, though!" He couldn't keep the nervous, canned half-laughter out of his tone. "There's no reason you and I can't eat together, is there? I know _I _don't want to eat all this by myself," he added with big, slightly forced smile for good measure. The young medium recovered her cheeriness.

"Okay, that sounds good! Get a plate for yourself, Mr. Nick. Everything's almost ready."

Soon enough, both were seated at the small table adjacent to the cooking area. Phoenix fell upon the food with gusto, since all the food he'd eaten in the past few days was either hospital food or some form of prepackaged snack on the go between trial proceedings.

"This is great, Pearls! You outdo yourself every- what is it?"

Her food had been touched sparingly, and she was staring down at some indeterminable point on the table. Phoenix reached across the table and rested his hand over what he roughly estimated to be where she was staring. Abruptly, she looked up.

"What? Oh…" she bit her thumbnail, "I was just thinking about Mystic Maya."

Phoenix sighed once more. With resignation, he stood up and brought his chair around the table next to hers. He spun the chair around and sat himself on it backwards, wrapping his arm loosely around her tiny shoulders.

"You're worried about her," he said, and winced inwardly.

_Way to be, Captain Obvious._

Pearl, however, didn't seem to mind the obviousness of what he had just said, and simply nodded.

"W-with everything that's happened, I…I don't know what to do for her, Mr. Nick."

She had turned her face away from him mid-sentence, but he had seen the tell-tale signs of tears building in the corners of her eyes. More than anything, he wanted to tell her it would all be okay soon, that she didn't need to worry because he would take care of it. After all, no 9-year-old should have to feel burdened like this. But, he didn't know much better than she did. For that matter, did _anyone_ know how to comfort a teenage girl in the wake of her mother's murder that had been part of a malicious plot hatched by the incarcerated and the _dead_? Most people would laugh in their faces, Edgeworth included had he not been present. Phoenix still wondered exactly his friend thought of all this.

So, then, there was nothing to do but be honest.

"Come here." He turned himself on the chair to face her more properly, and extended his arms. After a moment, she acquiesced and climbed over onto Phoenix's lap. It was all a little unprecedented, but Phoenix felt that some extra show of comfort was in order for the little girl. There was little doubt that she was hurting just as much as Maya would be, though for decidedly different reasons.

Phoenix paused to gather his thoughts. "Pearl…I-I don't really know exactly what to do either. But I think that, between us, if we keep an eye on Maya, we can be there when she does tell us what she needs to feel better. What do you think of that?" He ducked his head down to get a look at her downcast face. Finally, her large, glistening eyes met his and, hesitantly, she nodded.

"Mr. Nick…"

She buried her face into his shoulder and sniffed harshly.

"Hey, hey…it might be hard, but it'll be okay eventually, right?"

Lifting her shoulders, he propped her back up to look at him in the eyes again. Surprisingly, his reassuring smile came back easily and felt far more genuine this time. Just a few moments ago, he had been just as adrift in doubt and confusion as the girl on his lap. He couldn't understand what had changed so suddenly.

_"That girl is looking to you to be her rock, Wright. You can't allow yourself to be overwhelmed like that. Not now."_

_ Hmph. Edgeworth, right as usual._

What had been true during the Engarde trial remained so, even now. It seemed as though he had subconsciously learned Edgeworth' lesson this time around. More than likely, it was a rather depressing notion that he even needed to learn that lesson to begin with, but he found he didn't mind much at the moment. Right now, it was a saving grace. Pearl finally spoke.

"Yes…You're right Mr. Nick!" Her face lit with determination. "We need to be able to pay attention. Mystic Maya won't want to talk about it and try to hide it, but we'll be able to tell!"

"That's right," he said with a nod. Pearl slid off of Phoenix's lap and went back to eating breakfast. Using the excuse of returning his plate to the sink, Phoenix allowed himself to ponder Maya's predicament without interference a little further. Was there no better plan for tackling what could become an emotional train wreck? He had always considered himself to be an optimist, but this was pushing his luck. With a lack of better ideas, however, it would have to do for now. At least he was aware that there was an issue at all. Hopefully, Maya would be able to open up easily and take his and Pearl's help.

_Well, it's not like she's Miles, so it shouldn't be_ too_ bad._

All matters of emotional distress were improved when compared with Edgeworth.


	3. Chapter 3

Morning passed lazily. After Phoenix had gotten around to showering and shaving, he and Pearl had opted to pass the time playing Chinese checkers, with a Pink Princess episode playing quietly in the background to dispel the somewhat oppressive silence. In the middle of their second game, Phoenix noticed that Pearl looked even more focused that usual, though she had yet to make a move in almost five minutes.

"Pearls? You with me?"

He was loathe to interrupt whatever strategic thought process she had in mind, but it was uncharacteristic enough to warrant the question, although, he had to admit, she did look adorable, concentrating as she was. Hopefully, she wouldn't try to blame him of sabotage for it, as Maya usually did.

Pearl started and looked up. "Mm? Ah! I'm sorry! I didn't realize I'd gotten off topic for so long."

Phoenix tilted his head in confusion.

"Off topic? What do you mean?"

"Well, I was just wondering what-" she paused mid-sentence, as if she suddenly realized that she was about to let slip some big secret. She took a moment to conspiratorially glance over each shoulder and, seemingly satisfied that no one was listening in, continued, quieter this time.

"I was just wondering what Mystic Maya and Mr. Edgeworth were talking about last night. You don't know, do you Mr. Nick?"

"What they were talking about…?" he asked, more to himself than anything, before he remembered. How could he have forgotten Maya and Edgeworth's mysterious conversation the previous evening? He had just about died of curiosity, after all. Considering that, he thought he had done a good job keeping his trap shut about it and not bothering Maya afterwards. So good, evidently, that he had almost completely forgotten about it.

"Yeah, I remember now…but I don't know what they were talking about. I couldn't hear them any better than you."

However, he recalled now that he _had_ heard Miles' unique choice of words at one point. Obviously Miles had done or said something wrong to cause him to start swearing, and Phoenix's curiosity had only intensified because of it. The tense, itchy feeling of unanswered curiosity returned with a vengeance.

"Mr. Edgeworth said he wanted something from Mystic Maya. What could it be?" Pearl asked to no one in particular. Suddenly, she gasped. "Oh, Mr. Nick, what if…what if he," she lowered her voice to a whisper, "asked Mystic Maya to be his special someone?"

It took every ounce of willpower he had not to laugh hysterically in Pearl's face. As completely ridiculous as the idea was, her interpretation fit eerily well over the events he had witnessed between them. Picturing it only made it funnier.

_Don't laugh, Phoenix. You know she's serious._

With what he thought must have been an obvious, vocal gulp, he swallowed his laughter and said, "No, Pearls, I don't think so. At all." It was all he could trust himself to say at the moment with any form of passiveness. Pearl, however, was genuinely shocked.

"Really? Oh, but I thought…" she drifted off, obviously put out by Phoenix's completely confident answer. Somewhere in the back of his mind he regretted making Pearl feel silly. Knowing her, however, he knew that he had to stop that train of thought before it got going. Her flair for the romantic sometimes bordered on the ridiculous.

"We'll just have to ask Maya when she gets up, I guess…" Pearl said.

"Yes."

"And besides, she's your special someone, Mr. Nick."

"Uh..."

"So there's no way she would say yes to Mr. Edgeworth, even if he _did _ask," Pearl continued, still deadly serious.

Phoenix grinned weakly at her. "Um...yeah. Sure, Pearls."

Lacking any other substantial theories with which to continue the conversation, lawyer and young medium lapsed back into the silent strategy of Chinese checkers. Their game had not progressed much further before they heard a dull thump behind the wall adjacent to the couch. For curiosity's sake, Phoenix glanced once again at the DVD player's clock. It was now 1:32. There was another, smaller dull thump, causing Phoenix to turn his attention back to the wall.

_Is she running into walls in her sleep-induced stupor? _

It wasn't out of the question. He could easily picture Maya bouncing off the walls in a pinball-like fashion.

His imaginings were interrupted by Maya's grandiose entrance into the living room. Her hair was down out of its customary bun and jutting out at odd angles, but she still wore the same channeling clothes from the previous day. Bleary-eyed, she wandered into the kitchen without a word to her friends on the couch. Neither of them was surprised or offended by it, however. This was simply Maya's natural process most mornings. Phoenix decided that he could follow her into the kitchen despite her semi-comatose condition. It was rare, but occasionally she thought it would be okay to handle sharp objects in her current state, and it had led to what was now a small scar on top of Phoenix's left wrist. The desire to talk to her as soon as she seemed able was enough to convince him to brave whatever danger going in there now posed. Not one to make her feel abandoned, Phoenix looked over to Pearl for silent permission to halt their game. It was given by an enthusiastic nod of the head and a smile.

As he had rounded the corner of the couch, Phoenix caught a glimpse of Maya digging through the refrigerator. He stopped at the door into the kitchen and leaned against the frame, but jerked upright again as the bruising on his back protested rather violently. Whatever strange noise of pain he made caused Maya to turn to look, a pancake from breakfast in hand. The pose wasn't very different from that of a raccoon caught looting a storehouse.

"Hey Nick. You alright?" She began idly eating the pancake in her hand.

"Yeah." He took a moment to glare at the offending doorjamb before turning back to Maya. Involuntarily, he scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.

Maya smirked tiredly. "That squeal just now was a little on the girly side."

_Well, she's obviously conscious enough to start throwing insults…not to mention she's eating at the same time. Awake enough for me._

Phoenix made a disgruntled noise. "Look, I…I'm just worried about you, ok?"

That sobered her mischievous pancake-filled smile. While it wasn't Phoenix's ideal method of breaching the subject, it would just have to do for now. Where had all the mysterious collectiveness and wisdom from earlier gone? There was little doubt in his mind that Edgeworth would be snickering at him now for his lack of consistency.

Why was he thinking about Miles in the first place? Frustrated, he tossed the subject aside.

"Sorry," he recovered, "I didn't want to bring it up like this, but….yeah, I'm worried about you. What I want you to know, I suppose, is that…well, whatever you need from me, please don't hesitate to say it. You don't need to suffer by yourself. I can't say I have a lot of experience in supernatural murder counseling…but I do know that I don't want you to go burying your feelings like you want to. Am I making any sense at all?"

Maya giggled softly. "Yeah, you are. And thanks, Nick…you're right. To be honest, it hasn't really kicked in yet, my reaction to all this. I guess…it's just a matter of time."

Phoenix was doubtful that was the case – her actions in the courtroom the previous day proved it – but he didn't interject. It didn't feel like the appropriate time.

"I guess you want to know what I talked about last night with Edgeworth." Maya offered suddenly.

"Well, y'know, if it's ok with him that you do, sure…"

He wasn't sure if it was his tone, or some unknown emotion written on his face, but Maya rolled her eyes and retorted, "Oh, come on! Don't even try the innocent and cool act. I can tell you're dying to know."

There was a pregnant pause as Phoenix glanced sideways anxiously before slumping forward in defeat.

"Ergh…I tried not to be too obvious…" he tried helplessly.

"Uh-huh," she replied sarcastically, "Anyway, it's ok to tell. After all, I suppose it's only fair you know, since I'll be using the apartment."

"The apartment?" Phoenix exclaimed. "What?"

_You __**suppose**__?_!

"Oh, calm down Nick, it's not like I'm hosting a rave here. Edgeworth wants me to do a channeling for him."

"Maya, you just enlisted my-…what?"

The realization was like a slap to Phoenix' face.

His facial expression must have been particularly stupefied, because Maya repeated disjointedly, "Edgeworth. Me. Channeling." She moved to knock him in his forehead, but he caught and lowered her arm, more out of reflex than anything else.

"Wait…we_ are_ talking about _Miles_ Edgeworth, here?"

The look on her face would have made him feel incredibly stupid if it wasn't for his shock and surprise. It wasn't as if he had all that many guesses as to what Miles wanted to begin with, but he _never_ would have expected this, especially after their conversation in the garden at Hazakurain.

"How….what changed his mind?" Phoenix asked.

Maya shrugged and bit into the pancake again. "I'm not sure, he just told me that he had held a grudge or something against my family's ability and that he wanted to get over it, basically."

"DL-6…" Phoenix murmured.

"Yeah."

The idea of Edgeworth holding some form of grudge towards the Feys wasn't all that earth-shattering. Recognizing and acknowledging he was wrong, less than a day after vehemently rejecting just the suggestion of the supernatural, was. Phoenix's inner self couldn't even conceive the mental hurdle, much less overcome it. The emotional turnaround was almost impossible for a normal person, much less Miles.

"So…okay. Edgeworth wants to have you channel someone for him. As difficult as it is for me to accept that, I'll go ahead and entertain the idea. Dare I ask who?"

"You really have to ask? His father."

Hidden somewhere in his thoughts was indeed the knowledge and reasoning that Gregory would be the only person Miles would want to see from beyond the grave. Such things as knowledge and reason, however, were temporarily suspended in the wake of such a surprise.

"Did he have anything to drink last night…?" he mumbled to himself.

Maya's face darkened abruptly.

"Oh, come on, Nick. That had to have been really hard for Edgeworth to bring up, and you just pass it off as him being drunk? How much of a jerk can you be?"

Phoenix flinched from the whip-like change in mood.

"Sorry, I…I was kidding, Maya," he stammered in weak protest, "I just can't wrap my mind around it. We were talking the other day, and-"

"Whatever. It's not like you would understand."

If Maya had attempted to be passive in her response, she had failed miserably. Before Phoenix could interject again, however, Maya had abandoned her half-eaten pancake in the trash and brushed past him, mumbling about taking a shower. She left Phoenix standing dumbstruck in the kitchen, briefly unable to collect himself enough to respond. After what seemed like forever, he spun around to see Maya's profile disappearing into his room. Off to the right he could also see Pearls staring at the now-closed door, looking more than a little worried. The little girl's pained expression snapped him back to attention, and he strode quickly to the door and knocked, perhaps a little too desperately,on it.

"Maya, please!" After a few excruciatingly long seconds, she returned and opened the door. Now that she was here, his mind went into overdrive, struggling to find something to say before she decided to literally and figuratively shut him out again.

"I…I_ want_ to understand. That's what I've been trying to say," Phoenix blurted out.

Her eyes welled up suddenly, but with a large breath, she managed to keep her tears at bay and nodded.

"Sorry…"

Phoenix shook his head, "No need. It was stupid," he replied adamantly, before pulling Maya in for a reassuring hug. She took it, and while she didn't completely lose it, he could hear a couple sniffs from somewhere around his left shoulder. When she finally pulled away, he kept a hand resting along her right arm.

"This…is a really good idea," he reassured her, "I'm proud of you for doing it, in spite of everything."

All she could do to respond was nod, as apparently his encouragement only made her more emotional. Assured that the worst of their tension was behind them, he patted her shoulder and stepped back.

"Go on." He nodded back towards his room. "We can talk about this whole channeling thing later."

" 'Kay."

The door closed again, much more softly this time. Phoenix turned back to Pearl, who was now looking very relieved as well.

"I…don't think I'll be able to finish that game, Pearls. Sorry."

"Mr. Nick…" She shuffled off the couch and came around towards him. Phoenix crouched and absentmindedly drapen an arm around her shoulders, becoming lost in thought. There was a lot to consider and plan for within the next few days.


	4. Chapter 4

Maya had seemed relatively well for the rest of the week. Occasionally, Phoenix would catch her staring off into space with a sad look on her face, but he chose not to call her out on it. Despite the fact that her behavior the morning after the trial had disturbed him, he contented himself with the knowledge there had been no further questionable outbursts. That, and his small, nonchalant shows of empathy (the occasional hug, smile, etc.) had been received well, though perhaps without her usual enthusiasm.

That all changed on Tuesday.

Pearl asked Maya whether or not she would want a few miscellaneous items for the upcoming Thursday. While it was certainly true that they weren't necessarily required for the channeling, they could be useful. Apparently, because Gregory had been departed for long without a second summoning beyond the original DL-6 case, it would prove challenging to guide him to the mortal realm with normal spiritual power, even for one as gifted as Pearl. They would need to run out to Kurain to retrieve them, so why not go out tomorrow on a day trip?

"If we leave in the morning, we'll be back in plenty of time to get everything ready. The other initiates will probably want to see you too, you know, Mystic Maya. Sister Bikini in Hazakurain passed word back to the main village. She told me so…that day when I left."

Maya paled considerably at Pearl's revelation. "Did she?"

"Well, she had to…because…um…"

Pearl lost the initiative to continue at the sight of Maya's unreadable facial expression. Phoenix wasn't surprised to hear that word had gotten around about Mystic Misty's sudden reappearance and ultimate death. Coupled with his suspicion that the sisterhood had an unhealthy habit of gossip to fill the gap caused by a lack of channeling requests, and the obvious fact that the main village would have to know of Maya's official ascension to Head of the main family branch, it wasn't difficult to imagine. Still, it wasn't fair to have all of it hoisted upon her so quickly, and judging from Maya's reaction, she wasn't all too happy about it either. Despite everything, Maya's time here with him was truly nothing more than a vacation from reality. Regardless of Maya's desires, she would have to serve as village leader for at least a few years before handing off the baton, if she wished, to Pearls, who was far too young for it now.

_Well, for Christ's sake, _Maya's_ too young for it._

All of this added to the tragedy surrounding the last few weeks seemed almost too much to bear. Knowing the medium as well as he did, it was entirely probable – at least in his mind – that she would have passed on the responsibility to Pearl eventually anyway, either from her own choice to pursue something else, or the elders' insistence in favor of Pearl's greater power. No one had ever needed to die, or be imprisoned for it…but there was probably a long history of bloodshed within Maya's extended family.

Maya shrugged her shoulders in an attempt at nonchalance. "Yeah, it can't hurt to have a couple extra talismans."

Her body language bespoke of a far more upset disposition that what was outwardly projected, but Pearls didn't seem to notice.

_Maybe that's the difference between kids and adults…_

Phoenix felt the compulsion to ask Maya if she was really okay with continuing, but his conscious mind restrained it. Germinating whatever seed of doubt that was in Maya's mind was a terrible idea. Of course, this was going to be incredibly difficult for both parties, but Phoenix remained supremely confident that this was the right thing to do. Impressed though he was that Maya and Edgeworth had figured it out on their own, he had been expecting one or both of them to falter in their purpose. They would just have to be reminded of how good an idea it was in the first place, that was all.

His "supreme confidence", however, was rather violently shaken upon the girls' return from the village the next day. Phoenix had not gone with them; instead he had gone to the office (though the heavy rain had almost convinced him not to) and had buried himself in paperwork neglected since before the Hazakurain fiasco had started. At first, he didn't even realize they had returned until Pearls appeared in the doorway.

"Mr. Nick, we're back."

"Huh? Oh…Pearls. Sorry, I didn't hear you come in."

Her eyes shifted uneasily back towards the waiting room before snapping back to him. Whether the younger girl had intentionally been trying to turn Phoenix's attention towards the other room or not didn't really matter, because the lack of any noticeable activity from Maya brought him to get up from the desk anyway. As he did, he raised a critical eyebrow at Pearl, wordlessly inquiring towards her concern, to which she responded by clutching her hands self-consciously to her chest and looking towards the ground.

When Phoenix reached the threshold between the two rooms, he took a moment to rest a reassuring hand on Pearl's tiny shoulder before stepping into the waiting room to see Maya. The older girl sat on the couch, staring emptily at the wall opposite with her cell phone resting in her hands. The Steel Samurai tassel that hung from it fluttered in rhythm with her slightly trembling hands. A glance at the clock on the back wall reported that it was only mid-afternoon – well earlier than he had been expected them to return.

"That was…quick," he began carefully.

Maya didn't respond.

"We didn't…we didn't go to the village," Pearl filled in from behind his back.

The ominous pit in his stomach deepened. "Why not?" Phoenix asked, still moving slowly towards Maya with the intent to sit down next to her. However, his question had apparently rubbed the elder acolyte the wrong way, because her hands clutched tightly around her cell phone and she sprang up from the couch.

"Because I changed my mind! I'm not doing this."

Phoenix's heart sank. Her answer was no shock, but the angry tone of her voice told him it wasn't going to be easy to talk her down.

"What's changed your mind so suddenly? Come on, Maya, tell me about it, and–"

"No, I don't even want to hear it. Edgeworth told me it was my decision."

"You agreed with me the other day that this was a good idea for the both of you. Whatever hesitation you're feeling–"

"I'm _not_ hesitating. I'm _telling_ you that I'm not going to channel anybody."

"Have you called Edgeworth and told him that yet?"

Finally, Maya had been stalled. Her shifting gaze answered him even before she spoke. "N-no, I haven't…"

"Exactly," Phoenix said firmly. "If you're looking for my blessing to just back out on this, you're not going to get it. Being overly aggressive about it isn't going to fool me. You _want_ to do it, and you proved it by not canceling it yourself on the train ride back home."

Phoenix knew he was right, and in spite of his desire to calm Maya down, the conviction and frustration he felt bled into his tone of voice.

"No, I _don't_!" Maya shrieked. Phoenix instantly froze. "I'm not 'looking for' anything from you! You _can't_ make this okay, and you _can't_ make me do it!"

Faced with Maya's desperation, he softened considerably and stepped towards her. He couldn't even find a coherent idea in his mind, much less speak it. She all but jumped back as if he was advancing on her with a weapon, and she looked dangerously close to all-out hysterics.

"What is all this, Maya? What haven't you been telling me?" Concern saturated Phoenix's voice, and he continued moving towards her involuntarily despite her previous reaction. Still, she continued to back away, this time shaking her head.

"No, you won't…I can't…" she whimpered.

And then, suddenly, she was gone. The door squeaking softly on its hinges as it drifted back closed was the only sound besides the rapid pattering of footsteps down the stairs.

"Mystic Maya…Mr. Nick!" A terrified squeal came from behind Phoenix.

He swung around to stare down at Pearl still standing over by the door to his office, and clinging to its doorjamb as if her legs would collapse under her if she let go. Lost to complete shock, Phoenix started towards the tiny girl, but was stopped by her inarticulate cry and the vicious shaking of her head.

"Why…why aren't you…?" She managed to sniff, now staring back at the still-open door.

He too looked back towards it and, with adrenaline and fear mixing into a toxic cocktail of inhibition, took off and tore down the stairs. Once he burst through the door to the building and out onto the street, he was terrified to see no one. The driving rain limiting his range of sight only agitated his fragile psyche, sending him further towards desperation. Aimlessly, he started running again, calling out Maya's name as he did so.

Eventually, enough of the shock wore off that Phoenix gathered enough reason to run back to the side of his office's building and hop onto his bike. He resumed his search in a thorough grid pattern, block by block, for at least a half-mile in each direction. After some unknowable amount of time, he stopped on a sidewalk. He realized that he was panting from the extreme effort he had put into biking as fast as possible in the hope of passing up Maya's head start. His heaving breaths continued, so he finally planted both feet on the ground and bent over to rest his forehead on the joint between the handlebars of his bike in dismay.

There was nothing to be done for it. She was just…gone. And it was entirely his fault for pushing too hard. His forehead contracted in a heroic attempt to keep himself from crying. He had no idea what to do, he couldn't understand what Maya was experiencing…he couldn't even _notice_ how much she had been suffering even though he had sworn to himself that he would keep an eye on her…and to top it all off, he had left Pearl completely alone and terrified in his office in the middle of a torrential downpour.

_I can't do anything else out here. I have to go back and check on Pearl…as if she'll even talk to me._

Resignedly, he turned around and hauled back to the office. There was still a chance he could find her, if he had more efficient means of getting around…like a car…

That was it.

With renewed energy, he forced himself to pedal faster back to the office building. He abandoned the bike hurriedly against the side of the wall with the risk of having it stolen, but time felt to be too much of the essence to bother with it. Stomping up the stairs two at a time didn't seem to move him fast enough back to his office, but eventually he arrived and was relieved to see the door shut…and locked. The soaked attorney realized he had left his keys behind in his frenzied departure. Frantically, he banged on the door, hoping that Pearl hadn't thought to return to his apartment instead of waiting here. He was rewarded with a small click of the lock and met with Pearl's still-scared and tear-streaked face. Although he was still rushed in his purpose, he couldn't just ignore Pearl's obvious distress.

"I couldn't find her, Pearls…but I will. I've got a plan."

She could only respond with a pained sniff of recognition. He picked her up and carried her back into the waiting room of the office before placing her on the sofa that Maya had so recently occupied. After putting her down, he didn't even take the opportunity to catch his breath before lunging for the phone.

He had to call Edgeworth now, while there was still a realistic chance of getting out and continuing to search.


	5. Chapter 5

Miles sat in the center of his library, attempting to calm his nerves by reading. The steady cadence of rain was interrupted by distant thunder, awakening Miles from his blank reverie, only to realize he had been staring at the same page for some time. With a frustrated grunt, he shut the book and tossed it aside onto the coffee table, from where it slid onto the floor due to the highly polished surface. He made no move to retrieve it.

The prosecutor sighed heavily and let his head hang. He had spent the entire day attempting to shake off the nervousness and anticipation of the next day, when he was to meet with Maya for the channeling. Speeches, emotional ramblings and various other possible outcomes had held a stranglehold on his thoughts as well as he attempted to plan and anticipate how he would react and what he would say if the channeling was indeed a success, but as the day had worn on he had realized he had _no idea_ what to say.

No amount of explanations or excuses could help the reputation he had constructed for himself since even before becoming a full-fledged prosecutor. There was no way his father could simply let his behavior pass. So, why then was he going to try this? Some misguided hope of absolution? Echoes of Franziska's voice calling him foolish reverberated in his mind. Was this indeed just empty, arrogant hope that would ultimately be a massive waste of time for all involved? It suddenly felt like that was the case.

He should just call and cancel. It would be impossible to face judgment and scorn on such a personal level. Certainly Wright would be suspicious and inquire about it, but that was but a momentary irritation Miles was more than capable of ignoring and passing off. As he stood to go to the phone, it suddenly began ringing, causing him to jump in surprise at the sudden shrillness breaking the silence. Shaking it off, he strode through the French doors into his office and answered.

"Edgeworth speaking."

"Miles!" Wright's voice was breathless and frantic on the other end of the line. Involuntarily he stood and straightened from his relaxed, leaning pose against his large mahogany desk.

"Calm down. What's happened?'

In spite of his words, the tingling thrill of adrenaline began trickling down the back of his neck.

"M-Maya's gone, she just…took off."

"To where?" Miles asked blankly.

"I don't know! She just ran out the door. W-we were arguing and…and…I've been out for an hour and a half looking for her, but she's just…not in the neighborhood. I don't know how she got away so fast…"

"An hour and a half?" Miles asked incredulously as he turned to see the rain outside the windows in the library. "You're going to get sick all over again."

"That's not important right now!"

"I beg to differ. However, arguing about it certainly isn't. I'll be there in about 15 minutes, we'll take my car, and-"

Miles was interrupted by heavy thuds coming from the direction of his entrance hall. With an exasperated sigh, he returned his attention to the phone.

"A moment, if you would, Wright."

He could hear Phoenix's surprised and frantic protests as he dropped the receiver onto the desk and left the office. The small windows to either side of his front door were clouded by streams of water, so he couldn't see who was outside. He fervently hoped that this wasn't just coincidence. The thudding knocks came again just as he laid his hand on the knob and opened the door.

There on his doorstep, as he had hoped, was Maya Fey looking thoroughly soaked and upset. Without a word, Miles stepped aside to let her pass, which she did after some hesitation.

"Nick told you," she said flatly, noticing his lack of any surprise at her arrival.

"I'm on the phone with him now. He's…rather beside himself," he answered tentatively, hoping he didn't sound preachy.

"All I did was take the bus around town," she responded in irritation. Before Miles could come up with a reassuring response, Maya spoke again.

"Are you going to take me back?" She asked, eyes glued to the growing puddle at her feet.

"I would recommend that, but it's up to you."

"N-not now…"

"That's fine. In the meantime…" he began as he strode out of sight to retrieve his housecoat off of a chair in the library, "please sit down. As soon as I'm finished on the phone we'll see to making you more comfortable."

A blank nod was all he got in response. He reached around her back to drape the housecoat over her shaking shoulders before leading her to the chair he had previously been reading in. After that, he returned to his office, this time shutting the double doors behind him. As long and he and Phoenix didn't get into a shouting match, she wouldn't hear the rest of their conversation. Once again he picked up the receiver.

"Wright."

"Yeah?" His friend's voice creaked with exhaustion and dismay.

"She's come here. I just let her in."

"What? Really?" Just at that news he brightened a little. "Can I talk to her?"

"She…doesn't appear to be inclined to speak with anyone at the moment. I'm going to keep her here with me tonight. I know you want to come over," Miles preempted, "but please, just let it alone tonight. She isn't in any shape for you to try and 'fix' her right now."

Miles didn't register just how harsh his words were until after he had spoken them and Wright hadn't responded.

"I-I apologize. I didn't mean to…"

Miles thought he heard a small, defeated sigh on the other end, but otherwise there was no response.

_Fantastic._

"Look, I _know_ you're just trying to help, but, please understand, that's not always what somebody wants when they're upset. I just feel it might be better to…step back for the evening."

"…yeah. I-…sorry."

"Don't be concerned. I'll see to it she's taken care of. However…" Miles paused to consider the prudence of the question he wanted to ask.

"Edgeworth? What is it?"

"Could you tell me, perhaps, what led to the argument?" Miles asked carefully.

"Oh. Yeah…Maya wanted to cancel your plans tomorrow."

Surprise prevented Miles from responding right away.

"Let me guess…you were thinking the same thing."

The prosecutor stuttered into the receiver, garnering a weary and sarcastic chuckle from his friend.

"Yeeeeah. Thought so."

Grateful for the fact Phoenix couldn't see his deeply flushed face, he asked, "I told Maya she was well within her rights to accept or deny my request, so why didn't you let her? I certainly-"

"I didn't argue about it for politeness' sake."

"But-"

"You know perfectly well why I pushed the issue, and I…I _am_ sorry it's hurt Maya, but I can't just let it go. I knew that at least one of you would want to fold at some point, but…I gotta admit, I didn't expect _this._"

Miles' shoulders slumped. He felt compelled to back up Maya's wish and argue the point further, but it would be nothing more than pointless rhetoric because he didn't want Wright to be…well…right.

"Yes, you're correct," he conceded, "but nonetheless, I regret this has led to Maya becoming so upset…" He looked over his shoulder once again to the aforementioned girl sitting in the next room. He wasn't entirely sure due to the fact there was only one small lamp on in the library, but she appeared to be crying.

"Good heavens…"

"Hmm?"

"N-never mind." Miles muttered, not wanting to concern his friend more. "I…should go."

"Okay, but Miles…"

"Yes?"

"I've done enough damage tonight, so…"

"Understood."

"Thanks." Phoenix sounded like he wanted to say something else, but apparently words had failed him.

"Of course. Just get some rest. I'll see you tomorrow, regardless."

"Yeah. 'Bye, Miles."

"Goodbye."

As he put the phone back in place, its weight seemed to multiply as the enormity of his present situation fully bore down on him. Somehow, simply retrieving a set of dry clothes and sending her off to bed didn't seem like the best idea, despite Wright's request. He didn't know what else to do, however. A small knock jolted him from thought. Maya was standing at his door, looking in at him through the small grid of windows. Between the still-damp clothes, the way she clutched his housecoat around her shoulders, and the tear tracks on her pale face, Miles was relatively sure he had never seen anything quite so heartbreaking. With a sigh, he opened the door in wordless permission to enter.

"Wh-what did Nick say?"

"He…told me why you argued."

"Oh. I-…I…I'm really sorry…but," she began.

"Maya please, it's not-" Miles tried to interject, but it was too late.

"With e-everything that's happened, a-and my mom…I just…I keep wondering why it had to be _me_. It's s-so selfish…I keep thinking that, a-and then I get stuck going back and forth between being mad, and feeling guilty for being mad…I…I don't know…"

She abruptly dissolved into sobs and brought her hands to cover her face, the overlong sleeves of Miles' coat covering her palms entirely. Hovering somewhere close to complete panic, Edgeworth stepped forward clumsily to embrace her. Maya barely reacted and simply continued to sob into his chest instead. After a minute or so, Maya tried to speak again while crying.

"I-I've tried r-really hard all week to…to practice for the channeling, but every time I do…I th-think about mom a-and Mia and Kurain…it's just…t-too much…" Her explanation ended with a soft whimper as another wave of sorrow overcame reason, and she returned to crying.

"It's a perfectly acceptable reaction," Miles responded, softly and hesitantly. "When something so violent happens to someone you love, there's nothing you can do but be angry. Everything else is so far beyond your control."

Maya shuddered a little and pulled back from Miles' embrace, opting instead to stare at her hands while the fingers twisted together restlessly.

"Story of my life," she said with bitterness Miles didn't think Maya would ever be capable of. "The…line of succession has taken away any choice I ever could have had. It's why Mia left…and then she…" she tried to continue, but when it became obvious she couldn't, she abandoned the thought and continued, "And then Aunt Morgan first tried to get me in trouble…and then _kill_ me…when I've never wanted to be Master in the first place! It's all so _stupid_…but then Nick…when I told him I didn't want to do the channeling tomorrow, it wasn't, like, 'Oh, I understand' or 'That's ok', it was just 'No'."

Maya became progressively more frantic and tearful as she continued to explain, "All he wanted to do was talk me back into it. Again, I didn't get a choice, but this time it was Nick who was doing it. I…I just couldn't take it anymore." Fury washed over her face, and she looked up suddenly at Miles, who struggled not to flinch away involuntarily. "He told me that I wasn't going to get his 'blessing' to 'back out'. Can you believe that? He didn't even _pretend_ to understand or care."

Miles could only blink back in shock at Phoenix's callousness. He hadn't mentioned _that _on the phone. True, his friend had probably been frustrated as well, but there was really no excuse for his behavior, right or wrong. Perhaps this had been the "damage" that Phoenix had referred to earlier.

"What would you do, Edgeworth?" she said so weakly he almost couldn't hear her.

"Maya, considering that I've approached _you_ for assistance with a similar situation 17 years after the fact, I don't think - "

"I know!" she snapped, voice breaking from emotion. "I know," she repeated, softer now, "but what I mean is, you're older than me and stuff, you've dealt with it longer than I have. You've said that you made a lot of mistakes. But now that you're trying to fix it, what would you have done differently?"

That put the question into a whole new context. He surmised that he could probably fill a small book with the things he would have done differently. All the what-ifs and might-have-beens that had been chasing him for the past two years crowded his mind, rendering him speechless as they swirled in his mind.

"Edgeworth?"

"I…well, I supposed the biggest thing is that I never would have reached out to von Karma. However, that holds no weight in context of your situation."

"N-no, it doesn't."

_Think harder, Miles!_

He haphazardly attempted to get his thoughts into some kind of order. It felt like what Miles imagined drowning at sea would be - darkly crested waves of thought crashing down on his mind, closing around him and strangling any hope of coherent ideas.

"I-I'm sorry. Just, please give me a moment…"

"Um…ok…Look, I'm sorry for freaking out like that."

That made him feel a little better. "It's quite all right, nobody could blame you for being upset."

Now that Maya had calmed down and the situation didn't feel quite as much like talking a person out of suicide, he was more able to collect his thoughts.

In the past few days he had thought more about his father than he had in at least a decade. While he had been stewing all day, he had tried to anticipate things Gregory would say in reaction to Miles' choices throughout his life, but could never settle on something that he thought would sound like him. Truth be told, he had never angered his father to the point where he had yelled at Miles in their frightfully short time together.

Given how much time had passed, there was little he could recall about how Gregory had seen the world or reacted to the things he experienced outside of the vague idea that his father had been something of a stern man. There had never been anyone Miles could have asked (even if there had been, he probably wouldn't have taken advantage of it), and he had never taken the time to go over Gregory's old case files for a clue. It wasn't as if Miles found it too painful, like how he had felt towards the DL-6 file, he had simply…never thought to do it. He was repulsed by the notion that he hadn't cared enough to even try looking.

"I think…one thing I would have done was learn more about my father."

She looked surprised. "But didn't he die when…?"

"When I was nine, yes. I know your mother left when you were younger than that, but believe me, a few years makes little difference when you're that young."

_That ended up sounding much bitterer than I intended…_

"The memories I retain from my childhood, with and without my father, are few and far between. And, of course, children usually don't know all that much about or understand their parents when they're that age."

"Yeah, good point. I'll do that. A-anything else?" She seemed much shyer about asking now, probably because she no longer had rampant emotions as an impetus.

"Hm," he resumed thought once more. Thinking about his childhood now, there were even fewer memories he could recall than he thought. Even after he had begun his education with von Karma, there were no really clear recollections until well into his teenage years. All but the memories of von Karma's greatest moments for anger and a few scattered impressions remained. And, of course, the nightmare that had persisted for almost 15 years.

Miles hadn't realized until now just how little he remembered. He knew for a fact that he had visited at least a few foreign countries in the past during his time with von Karma, but nothing stood out in this mind outside of what was legally relevant. But why? Had von Karma been that much of a slave driver, or perhaps had spoken so poorly of Miles' father so as to make him disregard anything but the law altogether?

No…von Karma was not a kind man, and capable of a lot of things, but creating amnesia was not one of them. _Miles_ had made the decision to disregard all else. He could feel that it was something he had known subconsciously since DL-6 had been solved, but that didn't ease the guilt rising to the forefront of his mind.

"I shut everything out…" he murmured.

"What?" Maya asked, leaning in to hear him better.

"The biggest mistake I made. It wasn't von Karma, it was _myself._ I shut everything out except that which was applicable to the law. I don't remember when or where I made the decision to do that, but…that's it."

He finally looked back over at her.

"Everything I've done for the last 17 years is because of that decision. And look at me now. Somewhere, I allowed myself to slip into a pattern of arrogance and uncaring, save for my own weak self-gratification from the conviction of defendants, regardless of guilt or innocence. I completely turned on the idolization I had for my father and adopted von Karma's philosophies instead because of it."

Maya looked unsure as to what to say. Edgeworth realized that he was getting off-topic. This was about Maya. His own self-contemplation would have to come later.

"Regardless of all that, my point is the same for you, Maya. You wanted to know what I did wrong - that was it. Living with von Karma simply gave me a better excuse to do it. I understand you would be upset with Wright's actions earlier, but he only has your best interest in mind. You should have heard him on the phone before you showed up. I hadn't heard him that helpless and panicked since he told me Engarde had you ransomed.

He cares about you _so_ much. I am aware that he tends to make other people's business his own when he shouldn't and sticks his nose where we don't want it, but…he does it because he has an indestructible desire to help us overcome out doubts and fears. Complete belief that we really are better people than we make ourselves out to believe…unshakeable optimism…as infuriating as it can be, he is, grudgingly enough, correct most of the time when it comes to matters like this.

I understand the compulsion to drown out everything around you is an extremely attractive one, but it isn't worth the cost it demands. Yes, continuing on as you and I have does dull seemingly bottomless anguish, but it also blurs your own principles and the world around you. What I can tell you, given the greater experience I have that you mentioned, is that I have never felt so at ease and…_close_ to happiness in the past two years than I have since I was a child. The psychological awakening that Wright, for all intents and purposes, forced down my throat is the reason for it."

"So…you think…Nick was…" she began at almost a whisper that faded quickly with doubt.

"He had no excuse to bully you like that. While I'll admit that tactic was probably the only way he ever could have gotten through to me, it was cruel to do so with you. I had the advantage of being several years removed from the whole experience. Being castigated like that when everything is so fresh in your heart…I can't imagine that," Miles reassured.

For the first time since she arrived, Maya definitely seemed more relaxed. Her entire disposition had brightened somewhat, but now more than anything she looked tired from the day's events.

"A-anyway, I hope that helps you. I'm glad what I've experienced can lead to _some_ good."

"Thanks for being so honest. I know you don't really like to talk about yourself. I mean…that was some speech you just gave," she said tentatively, as though trying not to sound like she was teasing.

Miles blushed violently before looking down at the floor.

"Pretty words." He replied, using his trademark dry humor to deflect.

_I can talk a good talk around just about anything…but I __**am**__ a lawyer, after all. _

"So, do as you say and not as you do?" she asked rhetorically, hands behind her back and a smirk on her face in something closer to her usual mischievousness.

"Precisely."

Maya nodded back, but with a lack of anything to say after such a meaningful and emotional conversation, she defaulted to staring at the floor. A shiver shook her body briefly, reminding Miles that she had been standing here the whole time soaked to the bone.

"Let's try to find something passable to prevent you from becoming hypothermic, hmm?"

Maya looked herself over.

"Yeah…I guess so. It is kinda cold."

After rooting around amongst his clothes for a few minutes, he managed to find a pair of older pajamas and didn't completely fall off of Maya from their size. Nonetheless, much like his housecoat, the outfit hung on her in a very sack-like manner. He led her to the spare bedroom that, up until now, had been completely unused and had occasionally left Miles wondering why he had taken up such an expansive residence in the first place. Thankfully he employed a cleaning service for his home, or else the severely underutilized room would be unlivable.

"I'll…make sure your clothes are ready for you in the morning," he said apologetically.

" 'K. Don't worry about it," she said, gesturing with a flick of an overlong sleeve to her clothes, "they're really comfy."

"Very well then. I hope you'll be able to get some sleep."

"Uh-huh…I feel a lot better. Besides, I'm gonna need a lot of rest anyways."

Miles cocked his head in confusion.

"For tomorrow!"

"Uh, but…"

"It took me awhile, but I remember what I said to you when you first asked me to do this for you…about how I wanted to help, and how that was different from what my family does, right?" Miles recalled her words and nodded. "And, I mean, you're pretty determined, so I can't be stuck here feeling sorry for myself when you need my help!"

"You…are incredibly resilient…" Miles responded with awe. Given how markedly improved her mood was, he decided not to tell her of his own doubt not too long before. If she needed to take strength from what she perceived in Miles, he owed it to her to let her have it, regardless of his own feelings.

Maya became slightly introverted and played at the hem of one of the sleeves on her pajamas.

"Well, it's like what you said earlier. It's hard to do what you say. So, I just kinda…act like this, and eventually how I feel catches up with how I'm acting and it's ok again. This time, I got…distracted, upset, or whatever by more stuff than usual, I guess. Does that make sense?"

Miles was floored by how simple it was for her.

"It does, but…I don't think I could ever do that."

"Well, you always need proof and stuff, so talking to your dad would be the best way to go, right?"

"I hope so."

Maya smiled reassuringly. "We'll find out tomorrow. Good night!" She turned to depart into the bedroom.

"Um, Maya…"

"Hmm?" Her long hair twisted over her far shoulder as she turned her head back to face him.

"What I said about Wright caring…that is true of myself, as well. So, if you ever feel the need to, um, do something like this again…"

Maya giggled. "I know how good of a friend you are, Edgeworth. You didn't have to tell me that."

"Uh, well…yes, right. I just…wanted to make sure."

"Thank you so much for listening to me."

Miles was frozen in place by a combination of embarrassment and surprise when Maya stepped forward and, raised up on her toes, gave him a quick but sincere peck on the cheek. She giggled self-consciously and disappeared behind the door, and only with the click of the door closing did Miles fall back into reality. Without anything else to say or do to pass off his internal awkwardness, he turned and sauntered back towards his own room. Doubt still clung to him mercilessly, but he took the strength Maya had seen in him and did his best to make it legitimate within himself. There was no more room for hesitation.


End file.
